Bearcats outmatched by Stony Brook

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Bearcats outmatched by Stony Brook

January 16, 2014Updated Jan 16, 2014 at 12:17 AM EDT

Stony Brook, NY (WBNG Binghamton) Stony Brook (11-6, 3-0 AE) closed the first half with a decisive 20-5 run and went on to a 67-47 win over visiting Binghamton (4-13, 1-3 AE) in an America East men’s basketball game Wednesday night from Pritchard Gymnasium.

Seawolves senior guard Dave Coley led all scorers with 20 points and Stony Brook wore down Binghamton (minus 18 on the glass), which managed just 32 percent shooting. The Seawolves stretched a 13-point early second-half lead with a 10-1 run and never looked back in posting the program’s eighth straight win over the Bearcats.

Freshman guard Yosef Yacob led the Bearcats with 14 points – the lone BU player in double figures.

“They are a very good team,” head coach Tommy Dempsey said of Stony Brook. “I thought we came and fought them ... I was pleased with our effort. We aren’t happy losing but I saw a lot of good things ... things we can build from. We had a million deflections and hustled around the court. We struggled late in the first half. When we had a one-point lead we were playing good basketball. Good teams make their runs though and they created some separation. I thought we made their shots difficult and our young guys executed our game plan. The spirit was really good and we worked hard to do what we set out to do.”

Binghamton had a strong start to the game and led 18-17 with 7:35 left in the first half. But a 6+ minute scoring drought led to a 14-0 Stony Brook run and the Seawolves closed out the half with a 20-5 run to carve out a 37-23 cushion. Yacob tallied nine points and BU’s active zone forced nine Stony Brook turnovers early on before the hosts settled in and wound up shooting 50 percent from the field. With eight straight misses during the lull, BU wound up making just 8-of-25 (32%) in the period. Top offensive threat Jordan Reed was kept scoreless and two fouls reduced the America East’s leading rebounder and No. 3 scorer to just nine minutes. He then was kept on the bench for the second half and didn’t register a point for the first time in 45 collegiate games.

Binghamton has a four-day break before traveling to Albany to face the Great Danes on Monday.